How much money is enough to be happy?
Research shows that people who earn more than $75,000 per year are generally happier than those who earn less. But once you reach that threshold, more money doesn't really make a difference. You won't be any happier if you make $250,000 than if you make $100,000.
The Purdue study also included figures for being content at the “life evaluation” and “emotional well-being” stages. Globally, those were determined to be $95,000 and $60,000 to $75,000, respectively. It's important to keep in mind, though, that “happiness” is subjective.
The amount of R2 lakh per month should be enough for a comfortable middle-class life in a city in India. But then, our life does not stop at needs. There are wants and desires. You need more than R2 lakh a month for those looking for more comfort.
The Empower survey indicated that inflation, high interest rates, and student loans weighed on Americans' financial security and that having the comfort of spending money on everyday items could boost the feeling of financial happiness.
Now, new research from a Nobel Prize-winning economist and fellow researchers provides a fresh answer. Money does appear to boost happiness — at least for most people — up to earnings of $500,000, according to the new paper published in this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
Happiness depends on multiple factors, including personal values and needs. Income levels can positively or negatively impact both happiness and stress. Gratitude for other areas of life can create feelings of happiness regardless of a person's financial situation.
Money contributes to happiness when it helps us make basic needs but the research tells us that above a certain level more money doesn't actually yield more happiness. Not only did earning more money make participants happier, but it also protected them from things which might make them unhappier.
Generally, $100,000 per year is a good goal for most people.
It's enough to live comfortably, take vacations, and not stress out about paying the bills. Of course, this is just a rule of thumb.
Gen Z, Gen X and boomers indicated they only needed a somewhat modest income of $124,000 – $130,000 to be happy, far below the “average” of $284,167 for the entire survey. But millennials greatly skewed the results, requiring a whopping $525,000 per year in income to be happy.
Participants' reported wellbeing did, in fact, increase along with income, up to and well beyond earning $75,000 a year. What's more, the researchers found that happiness really only plateaus as income increases — above roughly $100,000 a year — for people who were already somewhat unhappy to begin with.
What makes Gen Z happy?
Todd Katz, executive vice president at MetLife, told Fortune that Gen Z's happiness bump is linked to upticks in things like job loyalty, satisfaction at work, level of engagement, and all elements of “holistic health”—how employees view the quality of their physical, mental, financial, and social health.
Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.
RANK | STATE | LIVING WAGE |
---|---|---|
45 | Maryland | $110,244 |
46 | Alaska | $113,079 |
47 | New York | $118,127 |
48 | California | $130,239 |
While people have different qualifications and different ideas of what constitutes a good salary, most would consider $75,000 per year to be good pay.
- Understand your current financial habits. Not sure how to start spending less? ...
- Create an effective budget and stick to it. ...
- Look for ways to reduce spending. ...
- Set financial goals for future success. ...
- Save for emergencies or major purchases. ...
- Pay down debt. ...
- Stay aware of lifestyle creep.
- Go on a picnic. ...
- Go to no-cost museum and zoo days. ...
- Give geocaching a try. ...
- Leverage your chamber of commerce. ...
- Take a historical city tour. ...
- Visit a farmers market. ...
- Go camping. ...
- Do a photography challenge.
- Cut spending and invest the difference, even if it's just a few bucks per month. ...
- Set aside money for small luxuries every month. ...
- Give to charity. ...
- Volunteer at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen or food pantry.
“Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.”
Living on $1,000 per month is a challenge. From the high costs of housing, transportation and food, plus trying to keep your bills to a minimum, it would be difficult for anyone living alone to make this work. But with some creativity, roommates and strategy, you might be able to pull it off.
It's a good idea to keep enough cash at home to cover two months' worth of basic necessities, some experts recommend.
What is a livable wage in the US?
According to research from MIT, the living wage in the United States was $25.02 per hour ($104,077.70 per year) before taxes per year in 2022 for a family of four (two working adults with two children). That's an increase from $24.16 ($100,498.60 per year) in 2021.
Aligning on money is all the more pressing for younger generations, who are earlier on in their relationships and careers—nearly half (49%) of Gen Zers view financial compatibility as more important than physical compatibility. That's compared to 40% of millennials, 35% of Gen Xers, and 30% of baby boomers.
Millennials are set to inherit as much as $90 trillion in assets before 2044, a new report shows. Many millennials are currently grasping in frustration at long-held American Dreams like homeownership, a steady job and an affordable cost of living.
Despite that big leap, however, Gen Z is still the unhappiest generation in the workplace. Around 62% of Gen Z say they're happy at work, compared to 65% of Gen X, 66% of millennials, and 67% of boomer employees, according to the report.
A new study from a group of scientists found that the limit in terms of whether money can buy happiness starts to max out once someone hits $500,000 a year. It's a far cry from past research, in which one study established the idea that happiness plateaus after $75,000.